Many video game systems make use of a headset for audio communication between a person playing the game and others who can communicate with the player's gaming console over a computer network. Many such headsets can communicate wirelessly with a gaming console. Such headsets typically contain one or more audio speakers to play sounds generated by the game console. Such headsets may also contain a near-field microphone to record user speech for applications such as audio/video (A/V) chat.
Multi-channel sound, e.g., surround sound, is often used to enhance the audio portion of a user's gaming experience. Unfortunately, the massive sound field from the headset tends to cancel out environmental sounds, e.g., speech from others in the room, ringing phones, doorbells and the like. To attract attention, it is often necessary to tap the user on the shoulder or otherwise distract him from the game. The user may then have to remove the headset in order to engage in conversation.
It is within this context that embodiments of the present invention arise.